More than 2000 computers at San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency, also known as #muni, got hacked. The MUNI payment systems and monitor screens got hacked by Ransomware. They started displaying a message across the city, that reads: "You Hacked, ALL Data Encrypted. Contact For Key(cryptom27@yandex.com)ID:681, Enter."

The hacker displayed a Yandex email, which is a Russian internet company that provides email and social networking tools. As you can see, the message delivered by the malware followed by an email address and ID number, which can then be used to arrange ransom payments.

As a precaution, the agency shut off all ticketing machines on the network, which gave customers free rides on its service all day Saturday.

"Out of Service" message can be seen on the ticket machines at stations, where Muni operators had taped paper signs said Metro free. The officials said that the trains were not affected by the malware attack.

The MUNI claimed that the payments were resumed on the morning of November 27th. It is the central system that looks after trains, trams, cable cars and buses around the city. To cut the customer impact the agency opened its fare gates. They also said a full investigation was underway.

Resolving the hack situation & investigation

As the Muni spokesman Paul Rose said on Saturday “We are currently working to resolve the situation." He also declined to confirm the #hack or suggest another reason for it. He confirmed that the message “You Hacked, ALL Date Encrypted” also appeared on the Muni agents’ computer screens.

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The hackers have made a ransom demand of 100 Bitcoin, which amounts to about $73,000. They also give Muni “one more day” to make a deal.

MUNI reacts

The Muni's official Twitter account @sfmta_muni publicly responded on Sunday afternoon to a reporter's tweet about the status of the transit system's ticketing machines, stating, "The fare gates and ticket vending machines in Metro stations are in normal operation."

@Jerold_Chinn The fare gates and ticket vending machines in Metro stations are in normal operation.

Hacking has now become a serious issue - from mobile games being hacked to Hollywood movies, it must be looked watched for as scientists claim a possible Russian attack may have manipulated the US 2016 election results.

Muni spokesperson Paul Rose confirmed to Mashable that, "Yes, all fare gates are operational, as of this morning."

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